Will and should are different things. It sounds like many want him to take a pay cut. He and his agent won't take a pay cut. I expect a modest raise to around $2.5-$2.7m. Would I give him that? I'm not sure.

I have a hard time imagining him taking much of a pay cut with a guy like Talbot getting an average of 1.75 over 5 years.

I'd be perfectly fine with giving Gaustad 1.75 per for 5 years.

You need guys like Goose to be a winning team. Solid, dependable, great on FOs, great PKer, physical (though not as much as we'd like), big, can play in front of the net, great 4th liner, borderline 3rd liner, can fill in very briefly in the top 6 if absolutely necessary....

You can't have a superstar at every position. Gaustad is real, real solid depth. If he'd take Talbot's contract I'd give it to him in a heartbeat.

His lack of playoff production is bothersome... not enough to walk away him though

Exactly. People need to stop acting like Gaustad's job is to score goals. It's not. In fact, for a guy who's a fourth-liner at heart, his offensive production is just a bonus. He puts way more points up than your average 4th-line center.

Will and should are different things. It sounds like many want him to take a pay cut. He and his agent won't take a pay cut. I expect a modest raise to around $2.5-$2.7m. Would I give him that? I'm not sure.

$2.5 is reasonable if he gets the term (which I'm assuming he wants, since guys who take more of a pounding want more security).

Honestly with the cap continuing to go up, giving a great 4th line / decent 3rd line C $2.5M seems in the ballpark.

cuz theres no reason to pay 2.3mil+ for a guy who can only draw faceoffs and barely plays any minutes/game. if he doesnt resign between 1.5-1.7mil id let him go and let McCormick center line 4 then pick up Carcillo to play left wing in the offseason, between the both of them they would make up less than what Goose makes now. I mean i do know we lose out on the great faceoff draw talent but that should be reallocated to a center thats gunna be in the top 6 gettin more than 14mins/game

That'd actually be an AAV decrease of $140K per season, but he's getting a bunch of cash up front. They could give him a $3.75M signing bonus on July 1, 2012. Pretty solid considering how much the cap has gone up.

.............. which is a ton for a guy who at heart is a glorified 4th-line center.

He's more important than people think.

I would love for him to get slotted in as a premium 4th line guy who can handle 3rd line minutes. However, hoping for it isn't getting it as they haven't been able to improve their top 3 centers to displace him down and there is no guarantee that they're going to be doing so any time soon. Some people are setting themselves up with the conversation about him being on the fourth line.

I would love for him to get slotted in as a premium 4th line guy who can handle 3rd line minutes. However, hoping for it isn't getting it as they haven't been able to improve their top 3 centers to displace him down and there is no guarantee that they're going to be doing so any time soon. Some people are setting themselves up with the conversation about him being on the fourth line.

If they could sign a premium 3C in next season's free agency period (think Pahlsson / Bolland mold) that lets them bump Gaustad down to the 4th line, that'd be perfect depth-wise with Roy/Adam/New Guy/Goose.

You shouldn't necessarily think of Goose's new contract in terms of actual dollar value, but rather % of cap he takes up.

The first 4 years are his actual cap hit relative to the salary cap (how much he takes up).

If he assume he gets a 5 year deal for $2.5 a year and the cap goes up by $2m every year, then the chart shows the % of cap for his next 5 years.

While it's a strict pay raise, it would still be a reduction in cap %.

Jeez man, stop with the logic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryNealesGarden

If they could sign a premium 3C in next season's free agency period (think Pahlsson / Bolland mold) that lets them bump Gaustad down to the 4th line, that'd be perfect depth-wise with Roy/Adam/New Guy/Goose.

Pahlsson's fallen off a lot and right now is more of a good #4/specialist.

If they're paying for a solid #3, Frans Nielsen is the guy to target and target him earlier -- ie. trade for him now and work on an extension. His tiny cap hit is superb for the overall game -- he's making the same as Matt Ellis for comparison's sake.

Pahlsson's fallen off a lot and right now is more of a good #4/specialist.

If they're paying for a solid #3, Frans Nielsen is the guy to target and target him earlier -- ie. trade for him now and work on an extension. His tiny cap hit is superb for the overall game -- he's making the same as Matt Ellis for comparison's sake.

If they could sign a premium 3C in next season's free agency period (think Pahlsson / Bolland mold) that lets them bump Gaustad down to the 4th line, that'd be perfect depth-wise with Roy/Adam/New Guy/Goose.

.............. which is a ton for a guy who at heart is a glorified 4th-line center.

He's more important than people think.

No, he isn't. You could get Jay McClement, Dan Winnik, Kyle Brodziak, Adam Burish or Dominic Moore for cheaper than Gaustad and a couple of those guys could actually play on scoring lines when injuries hit. Goose's physical game is sporadic and ineffective and he isn't a naturally tough player. He's gotten publicly skewered for doing nothing to protect his goalie twice in the past four seasons.

I'm not even that against the idea of re-signing Gaustad, I just think he absolutely doesn't deserve the honor of a midseason extension.

No, he isn't. You could get Jay McClement, Dan Winnik, Kyle Brodziak, Adam Burish or Dominic Moore for cheaper than Gaustad and a couple of those guys could actually play on scoring lines when injuries hit. Goose's physical game is sporadic and ineffective and he isn't a naturally tough player. He's gotten publicly skewered for doing nothing to protect his goalie twice in the past four seasons.

I'm not even that against the idea of re-signing Gaustad, I just think he absolutely doesn't deserve the honor of a midseason extension.

No, he isn't. You could get Jay McClement, Dan Winnik, Kyle Brodziak, Adam Burish or Dominic Moore for cheaper than Gaustad and a couple of those guys could actually play on scoring lines when injuries hit. Goose's physical game is sporadic and ineffective and he isn't a naturally tough player. He's gotten publicly skewered for doing nothing to protect his goalie twice in the past four seasons.

I'm not even that against the idea of re-signing Gaustad, I just think he absolutely doesn't deserve the honor of a midseason extension.

If you want Goose back at all, you'll get a much better price with a mid-season extension. If he hits free agency, his price will sky-rocket.

If we resign him, I'll be fine with it assuming the price isn't exorbitant. If he leaves, I won't mind either, there are other players who can play the PK well and win faceoffs. When he's at his best he's worth it but he's played poorly this season. Lack of physicality and goals (even his normal 10-15 is off pace).